About Mike Finch and Cameron Kidd

Experience Meets Innovation

At Platinum Performance Lab, swimmers benefit from a unique combination of experience, innovation, and technical expertise.

The coaching team brings together more than sixty years of coaching knowledge and a new generation of high-performance technical coaching, creating an environment where swimmers learn not only how to train, but how to understand performance.

 

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Mike Finch

Founder – Platinum Performance Lab

Mike Finch has spent more than six decades helping swimmers improve, learn, and reach levels of performance they never believed possible.

His coaching career has spanned age-group, high-performance, military, university, and private coaching environments throughout Canada and the United States. During that time, he has worked with swimmers ranging from beginners learning their first strokes to athletes competing at national and international levels.

Mike is perhaps best known for asking a simple question:

"How can swimmers learn faster?"

That question has guided much of his coaching career.

Long before video feedback became common in swimming, Mike was using video technology daily to help swimmers understand technique and race execution. Long before race-pace training became widely discussed, he was experimenting with methods designed to help swimmers understand speed rather than simply endure training.

As Head Coach of the W. Ross Macdonald Silver Otters, Mike built one of the most unique developmental programs in Canadian swimming. Using multiple video-feedback systems every day, swimmers learned how to analyze technique, identify errors, and actively participate in their own development.

Today, Mike continues to push the boundaries of coaching through:

• Continuous video feedback
• Pace-light training systems
• Race-pace skill development
• Turn urgency training
• Performance analysis
• Swimmer self-coaching education

At 81 years of age, Mike remains actively involved on deck, working directly with swimmers and continuing to develop new methods for helping athletes reach their potential.

His mission is simple:

Help swimmers understand performance at a deeper level.

 

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Cameron Kidd

Associate Coach – Platinum Performance Lab

Cameron Kidd represents the next generation of elite technical coaching.

A product of the coaching environment Mike developed, Cameron grew up learning not only how to swim fast but also how to analyze performance, understand technique, and think critically about improvement.

Over the years, Cameron has developed a reputation as one of Canada's most respected technical coaches, recognized for his ability to identify technical opportunities and communicate complex performance concepts in ways swimmers can immediately apply.

His coaching strengths include:

• Technical stroke development
• Race execution
• Starts and turns
• Underwater performance
• Performance analysis
• Athlete communication
• Individualized coaching strategies

Cameron combines modern coaching knowledge with a deep understanding of the athlete learning process.

His approach emphasizes precision, understanding, and measurable improvement rather than simply increasing training volume.

 

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A Unique Coaching Partnership

The partnership between Mike Finch and Cameron Kidd combines two valuable perspectives:

Experience

More than sixty years of coaching innovation, experimentation, and athlete development.

Modern Technical Excellence

Current high-performance coaching methods, technical analysis, and athlete communication strategies.

Together, they create an environment where swimmers receive:

• Individualized attention
• Immediate feedback
• Technical expertise
• Race-specific instruction
• Long-term athlete development guidance

Most importantly, swimmers learn how to think about performance in ways that extend far beyond a single practice or season.

 

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The Platinum Performance Lab Commitment

Our commitment is not simply to help swimmers work harder.

Our commitment is to help swimmers become smarter, more confident, and more effective performers.

We believe the future of swimming belongs to athletes who understand:

• Technique
• Pacing
• Race execution
• Underwater performance
• Decision-making
• Self-analysis

Every session is designed around that belief.

Because when swimmers understand what they are doing and why they are doing it, improvement becomes faster, more consistent, and more enjoyable.

That is the foundation of Platinum Performance Lab.